Nokia, Orange 5G collaboration

Nokia and the Orange Group are to collaborate on the development of services that will allow industries and consumers to take advantage of the efficiencies and business models made possible by 5G.

Under a new collaboration agreement, Nokia and Orange say they will drive the definition and development of these new services, with a focus on making the transition from 4G to 5G network connectivity in the most efficient way in terms of power, operations, and cost effectiveness, and with the highest level of quality and reliability. Furthermore, the companies will build on existing joint innovation programmes, as well as work with other partners, to develop, trial and introduce solutions that will make 5G a commercial reality and drive the digital transformation of vertical industries.

Nokia and Orange will leverage the Nokia Flexi Base Station and 5G-ready AirScale radio access portfolio, the AirFrame data center platform, telco cloud and cybersecurity technologies to create applications making use of 5G’s ultra-low latency and ultra-high reliability.

Nokia and Orange will leverage the existing research collaboration between Orange Labs and Nokia Bell Labs and establish joint innovation platforms at the Nokia Paris Saclay premises on the outskirts of the French capital, and at the Nokia campus in Lannion, in Western France, in collaboration with two Orange’s research and innovation sites, Orange Gardens in Chatillon and Orange Labs in Lannion. The companies will open up the laboratories to work with their respective innovation partners, including local enterprises, vertical application providers and local start-ups, to accelerate the ecosystem that will be created around 5G.

Marc Rouanne, chief innovation and operating officer at Nokia, commented: “With our breadth of Radio, IP and Optics technologies, and the expertise of Bell Labs, Nokia is proud to be assisting Orange in the introduction of 5G and the application of the Future X Network paradigm. Through this collaboration, we will test 5G applications for different industry segments and measure the benefits of extremely short latency and very high speeds. We are also delighted to be applying our world-class R&D expertise in Paris and Lannion in this project.”